Trial scheduled for lawsuit over Blue Diamond Hill development

A lawsuit seeking to block development on Blue Diamond Hill is scheduled to go to trial.

Environmental nonprofit Save Red Rock is scheduled to make its case before a Clark County District Court jury starting Sept. 4, 2018.

Save Red Rock is suing the county and Gypsum Resources, the company seeking to build as many as 5,025 homes atop a hill bordering the Red Rock National Conservation Area.

“We’d love to solve (the case) amicably, but we’re not going to back down. So if we need to go to trial we will go to trial,” Save Red Rock attorney and county commission candidate Justin Jones said.

Save Red Rock’s lawsuit seeks to protect the land from development by claiming the county commission must vote to approve a new concept plan for the proposed development before Gypsum Resources can seek a zoning change for the property.

Commissioners announced in February that a concept plan they approved in 2011 had not expired. Save Red Rock also claims that commissioners violated open meeting laws that day.

“We want to the process to be fair, and we don’t think the hearing in February was fair,” Jones said.

Gypsum Resources spokesman Ron Krater said the company believes commissioners were correct in declaring the 2011 concept plan still valid.

“We have complete confidence in the county’s process for rezoning of properties,” he said. “It’s tried and true and it’s proven to be an effective tool in defining the future of Clark County.”

Krater added that Gypsum Resources is working with county staff to reduce the number of homes that will be built Blue Diamond Hill. He did not divulge any specific numbers.